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Wickan
The Wickans were plains warriors from northeast Quon Tali known for their expert horsemanship. Conquered by the Malazans, they were often seen as primitive and "less than human", standing in the way of profitable exploitation of their lands.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 1 Chapter 2, US HC p.84 Nevertheless, those Wickans who joined the Malazan Military provided remarkable service and leadership. Wickan breed horses were regarded highly by those who were knowledgeable about horses and the saying was that Wickan blood (presumably that of horses given context) was supposed to 'smell of iron'.Gardens of the Moon, Chapter 9, UK MMPB p.277/278 Culture Wickan society was divided into clans. Most well known were the Crow, Foolish Dog, and Weasel. Their demographics tended to the very young and very old. Those of middle age had "all gone away to fight in foreign wars the Malazan Empire and precious few had returned.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 2 Chapter 3, US HC p. 331-332 Horses were central to their culture and herds were often with large encampments. They were treated as members of the family and so were not bought and sold as goods.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 1 Chapter 2, US HC p.83 Wickan children rode horses from before they could walk.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 4, US HC p.118 They practised charging with spears and standing upon their bare backs in feats of acrobatics. Camps were alive with the sounds of exulting war cries and ululating singing.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 2 Chapter 3, US HC p.329 They lived in painted yurts. Their possessions could be packed into covered carts when necessity or religious pilgrimage required it. They made use of flags and pennants as decorative items.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 1 Chapter 2, US HC p.83 Wickans were characterized by black hair, dark eyes, and tanned skin. They often wore their hair in braids and adorned their bodies in black tattoos. Some clans threaded their skin or covered themselves in blue paint. In extreme cases, they filed their teeth to sharp points.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 1, US HC p.37Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 3, US HC p.87Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 10, US HC p.249Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 13, US HC p.351-352 Their craftspeople produced blankets, clay pots, and beaten copper amulets and wristlets.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 1 Chapter 5, US HC p.199Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 2 Chapter 3, US HC p.331 Their clothes were fashioned from natural or tradeable materials, such as leather, cloth, crow feathers, and woven horsehair.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 1 Chapter 5, US HC p.199Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 2 Chapter 1, US HC p.268/277 Elders wore prayer blankets.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 1 Chapter 2, US HC p.83 In times of war, they wore spiked skull caps, leather armour stitched with black iron scales, and gloves. Wickans carried lances, horn bows, and long-knives.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 1, US HC p.37,39-40Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 3, US HC p.87 They were known to take scalps as combat trophies.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 10, US HC p.258 Wickans believed that crows carried within them the greatest of Wickan souls and returned to their people to await each new birth. This way the power of their elders was preserved through reincarnation.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 2, US HC p.54-55 Wickan law allowed those victimised by violence to seek redress through blood cleansing, a trial by combat.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 1 Chapter 2, US HC p.84 Somewhere on the western Wickan Plains were the sacred Golden Hills, an area of deep defiles and streams surrounding a high broad plateau where the Wickans could safely gather in large numbers.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 2 Chapter 3, US HC p.329 Sacred spaces open to the sky were known as kheror.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 4, US HC p.118 Warlocks Wickans with access to supernatural powers were known as warlocks (female warlocks were sometimes called witches). Warlocks had access to the warrens but also knew "the old ways, the sorceries of the land, of life spirits and totem beasts".Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 10, US HC p.255 A Warlock's final years of life were known as their Time of Iron, the years when their power was at its greatest. This time was marked by a ritual drinking of mare's blood.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 2, US HC p.58 Warlock's were treated with a deliberate casual indifference by their fellow Wickans, both as a sign of respect and to avoid contact with the spirit world.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 12, US HC p.314 Warlocks were few in number after Empress Laseen's purges, and most who remained were children. Horsewives Wickan healers were known as horsewives. In addition to providing expert care to their beloved animals, horsewives treated human ailments using powders, herbs, and elixirs.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 10, US HC p.249Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 15, US HC p.403Deadhouse Gates, Epilogue, US HC p.597 Cattle-dogs This Wickan breed was famous for its ferocity and adaptation to plains life. Language A sample of the Wickan language (translation unknown): Sayings History For much of their history, the Wickans engaged in fractious fighting between clans. Coltaine united the Wickan clans in an uprising against the Malazan Empire under Emperor Kellanved. The uprising failed but Kellanved somehow managed to acquire Coltaine's loyalty.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 1, UK MMPB p.51 Nil revealed to Duiker that the Emperor had won their support by shaming the clans, mocking their petty squabbles and pointless feuds. He said he need only sit back and watch the already faltering Wickan alliance to see the end of the rebellion. His words and the offer of unity with the Empire were met with gratitude and gained their loyalty.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 10, US HC p.263 During the first year of Empress Laseen's reign, called the short-haired woman by Bult, she ordered all Wickan warlocks to be executed. Many died on the walls of Unta, however unbeknownst to the Empress, their souls were collected by crows, eleven for Sormo E'nath alone, and given to newborn babies.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 2, UK MMPB p.75/76 The Empress encouraged Malazan citizens to settle and cultivate Wickan lands resulting in unrest on the empire's frontier.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 1 Chapter 2, US HC p.84 The Malazan military maintained several outposts in the region to assist the settlers and keep the peace. Known clans * Crow Clan * Foolish Dog Clan * Weasel Clan Known Wickans * Bult, a veteran commander and Coltaine's uncle * Coltaine, Fist, 7th ArmyDeadhouse Gates, Dramatis Personae, UK MMPB p.18 (Crow Clan) * Clearwater, a shaman * Keitil, a Veil * Mane, a young warrior * Nether, a warlock and veteran of the Seven Cities campaigns * Nil, a warlock and veteran of the Seven Cities campaigns * Sormo E'nath, a warlock * Su, a witch * Temul, a young lancer * Udep, a hetman (chieftain) In Deadhouse Gates Empress Laseen placed Coltaine (now a Fist) in charge of the Malaz 7th Army on Seven Cities. He was accompanied by members of the Crow, Weasel, and Foolish Dog Clans as well as his people's greatest warlocks. But when the continent broke out into widespread rebellion, the Wickan Fist was abandoned by High Fist Pormqual and the local Malazan command. He was forced to march across the continent to the Malazan stronghold at Aren while escorting tens of thousands of refugees and fighting the armies of the Apocalypse who greatly outnumbered him. This march became famous as the Chain of Dogs. In the end, the majority of refugees reached safety in Aren, but Coltaine and his men were massacred within site of the city's gates. Instead of celebrating the Wickans' act of heroism, Coltaine and his people were cursed for their imagined treachery. In Return of the Crimson Guard Tensions between the Wickans and Malazan settlers reached their boiling point during the Malazan civil war. Settlers felt so emboldened by their hatred of the Wickans that they besieged the Malazan border fort commanded by Rillish Jal Keth in an attempt to seize the Wickans hiding inside.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 1 Chapter 4, US HC p.156 The return of Coltaine reborn, along with veteran sorcerers Nil and Nether, meant the Wickans had the leadership to take advantage of the Malazan Empire's temporary weakness to force a renegotiation of treaties.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 2 Chapter 3, US HC p.328-334 With advice from the sympathetic Rillish, the Wickans raided the towns north of Unta in large numbers. On the verge of entering the capital, they decided they instead needed to make a more notable and lasting effort to enhance their bargaining position.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 2 Chapter 5, US HC p.474 Nil and Nether brought a force of one thousand Wickans by warren to Li Heng where they proved to be the decisive factor in the Empire's victory over the Crimson Guard at the Battle of the Plains.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 3 Chapter 2, US HC p.575/617The Wickan elder Su took advantage of new Emperor Mallick Rel's precarious position to renegotiate treaties with the Empire that were more favourable to the Wickans.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 3 Chapter 4, US HC p.670 Quotes Notes and references de:Wickaner pl:Wickanie Category:Wickans